BrandonTuckerGA

Haven't played Kizer all year and this was my first round in Texas in about two months after going up north for a little bit. The turf conditions were excellent. Probably the best I've ever seen Kizer, and it makes sense considering the munis were closed for over a month due to COVID. Bunkers are not being maintained all that well even though there are rakes in them now. I typically gravitate towards Jimmy Clay, Mo Willy and Lions over Kizer (especially when it's hot - there is no shade out there), but I like to play it once or twice a year.

I played Champion Hill, just west of Traverse City near Crystal Lake, twice during my three weeks up north, both times first out in the morning. I walked the first time and it was very doable despite a few modest hills and green-to-tee walks.

At $59 with a cart on weekends, this is one of the best values in the north. I've played nearby privates Kingsley Club and Crystal Downs and yes, Champion Hills has similar elements. The scenery is a joy and it is routed and shaped beautifully. It's the right level of challenge for the tourist golfer. I played the whites at about 6300 but it only tips out at over 6600.

I'm slightly tormented playing here because I just wish they could get the turf a little firmer and fiery so it can bring out the fantastic shaping and roll to the land. I feel the same way about its sister course Pinecroft. It would be one of the best value courses in the country if you could run the ball like you can at Wild Horse in Nebraska. Instead, greens and fairways are pretty soft.

Even as is, it's a great bargain option on the way to or from Arcadia Bluffs, Shanty Creek or Grand Traverse.

I played the front nine twice at twilight during my multi-week stay near crystal Lake. It is a very pleasant setting overlooking the lake and very quiet, meandering through the trees. Some holes are pretty tricky, like the par-5 3rd hole, and others are quite narrow while there are some that are more wide open. I think it's especially good for beginners because the forward tee is only 4,300 yards, which is why we came the second time. The shaping of the land is very cool with rolling humps and bumps. If they could get the turf a little tighter so the ground game can be used a little more, this place would be exceptional. The greens however are quite nice.

I prefer Champion Hill over Pinecroft but like Pinecroft more than Crystal Lake GC.

I've played Bay Harbor 4-5 times now but this past summer was my first time including the Preserve nine in my rotation. There are some really different and interesting holes here and Arthur Hills moved a good bit of earth around to create some interest and blind shots. It is generally in the forest the whole time until the par-3 9th hole which plays along the bay. The shot values are pretty close to the other two, more resort-popular nines, which explains why the members play this nine a lot.

The Links nine is very dramatic beginning with an excellent, brawny par 4 that plays out to the bay and doglegs right. The par-5 7th hole is the best at Bay Harbor and arguably among Michigan resort golf.

None of the nines at Bay Harbor are walkable but this layout was built on an exceptionally difficult former industrial area with residential considerations. If you can look past the fact there are some long cart drives between holes this place is as good as it gets in Michigan.

The quality of a municipal golf course tends to ebb and flow over time based on government factors often beyond the control of the golf course staff. It seems that Leslie Park is enjoying a moment in the sun. I played this course all the time in the 1990s. It's been about 10 years since I played it last, and this week I saw it in about its best shape ever.

I really like the creek enhancements and with the colorful new native areas there is wonderful definition throughout the course. I'm pleased to see that the five "new" greens from the Arthur Hills renovation in the 90s are finally consistent with the existing ones.

This is a great layout and certainly not easy. It's walkable if you can manage the climb to the 14th tee. The club leased some Tempo Walks from Club Car and that's definitely worth trying out.

No driving range onsite but there is a hitting net and two practice greens. I don't remember them having a full bar back in the day, but maybe it's because I was a teenager. We certainly enjoyed a drink on the patio after.

The opening 140-yard dogleg right doesn’t exactly rev up the excitement. It’s a decent par 30 that would benefit beginners if it had some wider corridors. Once you cross the entranceway holes 6-9 open up a little bit. One driver hole on 8. Pretty wet first thing in the morning. Greens putted ok.

I caught Ozarks National on a beautiful 80-degree August day and decided to walk the course. I wasn't alone; I saw a lot of trolleys out there that afternoon. The routing is definitely hilly but highly walkable with tees always steps from the previous green. The scenery is great throughout with long views (though Payne's Valley next door may have better overall views) and the walk comes with strolls across bridges in the woods and several "hub" spots at comfort stations.

After playing Payne's 13-hole preview in the morning, some landing zones at ON were a little tighter but there is still a lot of room on most tee shots. The green complexes are phenomenal and subtly tricky at times. There are risk-reward options, especially on the front nine, with two short par 4s and a few great par 5s, including the opener. The 5th is one of the best and boldest short par 4s in the country with decisions galore off the tee.

If I had to knock ON, it's that there are a few too many elevated greens, which might get old for higher handicaps. The par 3s and 5s are front loaded with 3s and 5s in the first 12 holes and 5 of the last 6 holes are par 4s. Quite a few of the tee markers were moved up a box compared to what the yardage was on the card and that's a pet peeve of mine. I ended up playing from the plates on some holes.

The par-3 17th is stunning but it ate my lunch. I went pin seeking to a back left location and ended up making triple.

I was a little surprised at how few amenities were at the Ozarks National clubhouse so for hot food you have to make the short cart trip to the Mountain Top-Payne's clubhouse. The practice facility has a great range and short game area.

I think $195 for this course is a steal compared to other resort courses these days that earn $250+. It can hold its own with the top resort courses in the country with both scenery and interesting design.

I played the 13-hole preview loop of Payne's Valley on a gorgeous early-August morning. I must say, the setting of the clubhouse at the top of the mountain and overlooking both the Mountain Top par-3 course and Payne's Valley is absolutely mesmerizing. It is one of the best bag drop locations I've ever seen.

If you want to hit balls, you'll have to take a short cart ride to the excellent practice facility at Ozarks National, so allow a few extra minutes to get there.

The opening tee shot at Payne's Valley is similarly breathtaking: a long but straight and downhill par 4 with a beautiful valley view beyond.

Tiger's design is wide, gently shaped and has more downhill shots than up. Compared to nextdoor Ozarks National, which I played later that afternoon, there are wider landing zones and fewer elevated greens. I suspect Big Cedar's Johnny Morris and Tiger decided to build something more player-friendly that Big Cedar's other two full-length courses.

The whole layout feels rather comfortable. Views are surreal at all times. I'd recommend playing Payne's first before moving up to Buffalo Ridge and Ozarks National on your Big Cedar golf trip.

It had been at least 5-6 years since I've been to Plum Creek but with Austin's munis closed due to COVID we're expanding the radius to Kyle.

There's no "creek" at Plum Creek right now. The creek is bone dry because we've had no rain. Actually, that probably saved me 1-2 shots. Fairways are good and the greens are rolling really nicely. It's a good facility with an excellent range, but the course design itself is pretty mediocre and there is a lot of jackhammering with all the development going on. Seems like some of the greens have shrunk over time as well.

I ended up walking because there are only two carts allowed per group and sharing wasn't an option in our foursome. The routing isn't too bad for it besides getting from 9 to 10.

It's a good overall public experience and I'll be back. If I lived south of Austin I'd definitely use the practice facility. The course itself is just a little suburban cookie-cutter.

I’ve lived in Texas since 2008 and the Bandit has been hyped up to me by a lot of area golfers. With the Austin munis closed due to Covid I figured now was the time to make the hour drive. It’s very popular course right now and getting a good tee time is tough. Plan ahead!

It’s a Keith Foster design from the late 1990s and has some good hole variety and elevation changes. When the turf is dry you’ll want to be conservative off a few tee boxes. There is a short par 4 on each nine which I always like and some elevated tees. (There sure are a lot of power lines on the horizon.) The back nine is a little cooler than the front. I especially liked most of the holes on the back nine especially 12 and 18.

Great service: the cold towels on the back nine were awesome on a 100-degree day and I can’t remember a round where the bev cart came around so often.

I think I like Landa Park’s charm, walkability and value a little more when I’m in New Braunfels but the Bandit compares favorably to most if not all the suburban semi-private courses in Austin. For atx golfers like me shut out from their munis for awhile I’d make the trip.

We played here on the afternoon of our arrival day and had a 2pm tee time for $100. The course is very scenic with very few homes in view and starts with a pleasant, downhill par 4. The drivable par 4 6th with the bear claw is a fun look. The name makes you think this is a Nicklaus design, but it's not.

No chance walking this course, and I don't think the greens needed to be as severe as they are. It was my first round in Colorado and it'd been some time since I putted bent grass so I was constantly above the hole and three putted like crazy. That said, there are some very memorable holes both uphill and downhill. I always love reachable par 5s as finishing holes.

The club was pretty busy and clearly very popular. It was a bit of a hike from Denver but not as far down south as Colorado Springs. I'd definitely make the trip again. If you want scenic mountain golf this is Top 3 easy within an hour of Denver.

This is one of the country's most unique settings for public golf without question. The red sandstone formations jutting out around the property mixed with boulders big and small are just too cool. I think the routing, a par 70 with 5 par 3s and 3 par 5s, is quite good for such a sensitive area as well. The par-3 13th hole is the signature but I think the par-3 3rd is as good if not better. The opener is wonderful and the par-5 16th has a great "reveal" over the crest and shows Denver in the distance. It's also walkable. Not all the great mountain courses around here are. So that should be noted.

reading some of the reviews I can see why this course isn't for everyone. Along with TPC Colorado it's the most expensive public in the area. It can also get a little slow. We teed off at 9:30 and played in 4:40. It's also on the shorter side, so if you're a longer hitter you may feel a little cramped in. From the middle-back tees I hit quite a few hybrids and 4-irons off the tee including the par-5 18th where I reached the green going 4-iron/3-wood. TPC Colorado is a bigger ballpark with more chances to swing big.

My buddy raved about a deal they were running in the shop where if you spent about $30 on merch you got three drink (including alcohol) tickets.

Greens ran great. Honestly they could have been slowed down. Their flipped cup setup was pretty unforgiving. I had 41 putts! But the total package is as good as I've seen as a visitor to Denver.

I've played a few Jim Engh courses and in all honesty I've always felt they're a little over the top. As a tourist in Denver I had fun at Fossil trace though, and it's easy access from the city is also a plus. The unique touches start on the first hole with a chimney in the middle of the fairway. The typical Engh bowled greens are prevalent throughout and it helped lead to one of my birdies. The 12th hole, my gosh, is just wild. You won't play anything like it.

I always appreciate courses that are built out of old quarries or wastelands. Turning an eyesore into compelling golf grounds is always one of the best ways to celebrate the game.

I can promise you you'll remember a lot of holes. Probably a Top 5 course in the Denver area all things considered.

Wolfdancer was one of the local Austin-area courses most affected by COVID-19. Because of its association with the Hyatt Regency Hotel, they closed thru June 1 while other area courses had a busy May. The closure however appears to have allowed them to clean up some of the poa outbreaks they've had around some greens. The conditions were about as good as I've seen it there, save for some neglected traps. Greens rolled really nicely and fairways were plush. You could take your own cart if you wanted and pace was good despite being pretty busy. Appreciated the bottles of water and the water jugs had cold water as well, which was surprising. Wolfdancer is always a great place to measure your game in the Austin area.

I had another round of golf fall through and I popped in here last minute on a Monday morning and was able to get out immediately. I'd played here years before but the conditions were rough and a storm ended up shooing me away after 9. It was a much better experience this time around. I understand they've put more work into it. The layout is pretty fun with good width off the tee and some good short par 4s. They nines were reversed a few years ago, which means you open with a really pleasant, short and downhill par 4, and finish with a good par-5 birdie opp instead of a brutal, long 4. While it's part of a larger development there are really very few homes around and it feels very natural. For $69 on a Monday, conditions could be a little better. but they were good enough. Kinda fits in the middle of San Antonio between the public/munis and high-end semi-private and resort courses. Glad to see this course doing a lot better than past years.

I'd always been intrigued by this course considering its along the Colorado River. I finally decided to make the trip. It's good to see it's been busy because I'd seen an article a year or so ago about the owner saying business was tough.

It is a very scenic and unique layout, certainly penal in areas, and the elevated par 3s are especially memorable. The greens are pretty small for the most part and rolled okay. There are certainly a few bizarre holes and the terrain is rugged. Be careful in your golf cart as there are some serious dips and drops. No chance walking this course.

The conditions had their rough spots but all-in-all I can't complain, especially for a $25 round on a weekend twilight. Hopefully the tee sheet stays busy throughout the year and they can polish the place up a little bit. It has a lot of potential and there is certainly nothing like it closer to Austin. Some golfer posted a guerilla ad for infowars on one of the tee signs. C'mon dude.

Greens are in good shape right now at Mo Willy, the bermuda is rounding into form with the warm weather. It's been pretty busy out there. The grill is closed, instead there is a food truck outside below the clubhouse. Worth noting the practice green is being rebuilt and enlarged. Will probably be a few months before it's reopened.

I'm told the driving range is irons-only until they raise the funds to raise the net. I guess some of you bombers damaged some property with your big dogs.

We were a walking fourball on a busy friday morning and got around in under 4 hours. I think not taking out the flags and no bunker rakes is making people play fast.

Great time to get out to get off the computer, get some sunshine, and enjoy Mo Willy right now, ATX'ers.

I'd never played the 9-hole course here, only used the driving range and the three-hole pitch 'n putt. I'd even foot-golf'd here before but never pegged it. I live near Hancock, another 9-hole course of similar length, so I usually forget about this place. I'm glad I finally played it.

Comparing it to Hancock, which is about 2,400 yards vs. HPGC's 2,100, it's a tricky site to route a golf course thanks to Walnut Creek and other wetlands. I heard it flooded a few years ago. While the conditions are a step below the Austin munis, the greens here are faster and better to putt than Hancock (which has thick rye grass in the cool months and basically sand in the summertime).There are numerous sets of tees and with six par 3s you can give your mid-irons a workout. The 6th hole is long and narrow and requires a forced carry over the creek. It is no cakewalk.

I was the only one on the course on a weekday afternoon and played it twice, hitting tons of practice shots. I felt nice solitude and enjoyed the many bridges.

As the city of Austin debates Hancock's future, they are considering plans not all that different from what is already at Harvey Penick. And with Bluebonnet Hill closed for good, the east side needs this place more now. I plan to be back a lot this year to play both the 9-hole course and three-hole practice course.

The City of Austin announced the opening of its municipal golf courses on April 15th. I played Lions on the 16th and found an operation trying very hard to do all the right things and keep a safe environment for golfers looking to get outside and away from the computer.

First of all, the greens are in great shape and they've been working on the course when it was closed. It's a great experience! Just note the following rules:

You must book online in advance and then you pay with credit card at the window.

There are no golf carts or push carts to rent.

They took out the water coolers so bring plenty, especially as it gets hotter.

Flags must be left in and there are pool noodles at the bottom.

YOU MUST WEAR A FACEMASK around the clubhouse and common areas. The staff will call you out on the intercom if you take it off.

The range is closed and there are no holes in the practice greens.

Lastly, don't be an idiot and stand close to your partners. Even if you're related, people who drive by and see golfers too close to one another end up complaining to local news outlets and government officials. It's happened in other cities and states and caused courses to close.

Do all this and you'll have a great time. I expect conditions will be as good as ever if they don't allow golf carts on the grass for an extended period of time.

Thanks to the staff at Muny for doing all the right things.

I ended up liking this course more than I thought I would, maybe it's because it had some similar elements to it as perhaps my favorite Nicklaus course anywhere, Punta Espada. This was my first and only round on the Big Island and it's pretty awe-inspiring how golf architects are able to lay golf holes down on lava rock. The corridors are pretty wide (we also played on a calm day) but nevertheless there were some errant shots in our group that hit lava rock and bounced back into play, or hit lava rock and bounded into oblivion.

The 17th is a great climax but there are a few other inland holes I really liked, especially the par-4 6th and par-5 7th. Overall it's quite good hole variety.

Be sure to grab a cookie or two at the turn, and show up early and make use of the Trackman app on the range (it's free!). We also had PXG rental clubs and the irons are pretty sweet. They also debuted a golf "hale" this spring which has simulators and Topgolf integrations and is available for groups or individual lessons or fittings. Great service and amenities in a special part of the world.